Evie Smith

Evie Smith

YEAR OF CALL 2022

Education

BPC LLM (Distinction), The University of Law (2020 – 2021)
LLB, University College London (with a year abroad at the National University of Singapore) (2016 – 2020)

Appointments

CPS Advocate Panel Level 2

Memberships

South Eastern Circuit
The Honourable Society of Inner Temple
The Criminal Bar Association
Women in Criminal Law

Scholarships & Prizes

The Kalisher Trust Essay Competition – Second Place (2024)
Ede & Ravenscroft Pupillage Prize, Inner Temple (2023)
Duke of Edinburgh’s Entrance Award, Inner Temple (2020)
Elfreda Edwards Scholarship, Inner Temple (2020)
Exhibition Award, Inner Temple (2020)
UCL Old Square Chambers Prize for Employment Law (highest ranked in the cohort) (2020)

Overview

Evie is developing a busy practice prosecuting and defending in the Crown Court. She has been instructed in cases involving serious offences, including violent offences such as causing grievous bodily harm, actual bodily harm, intentional strangulation and group acts of violence. Weapons offences, including bomb hoax. Fraud and dishonesty offences, including robbery and burglary. Domestic violence offences such as harassment, stalking, and coercive and controlling behaviour. Drug offences of supply and possession of Class A and B drugs.

Evie has completed specialist training in representing children and young people, prioritises client care and wellbeing, and has experience handling vulnerable clients and witnesses.

Prior to joining Chambers, Evie managed Intervene Project, a charity providing free legal assistance to prisoners suffering from abuse and neglect. She managed a caseload of over 200 clients and secured many positive outcomes including improved living conditions, rehabilitative opportunities and compensation. Under her management, the charity was shortlisted for the LexisNexis Pro Bono Legal Award 2022. Evie has raised awareness of the current prison crisis through podcasts and published articles.

Notable Cases

Defence

R v M (Reading Crown Court, 2025) – Represented her client facing ten charges, including offences of causing GBH with intent (s.18), intentional non-fatal strangulation, ABH, controlling and coercive behaviour, threatening with a knife, sending a message conveying a threat of serious harm, and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal. In light of the numerous weaknesses in the Crown’s case, her client entered acceptable guilty pleas to lesser charges on the day of trial, and, following mitigation, was released from custody with time served.

R v H (Staines Magistrates’ Court, 2024) – Made a successful submission of no case to answer when representing a client in his trial concerning a domestic assault involving a knife.

R v W (Harrow Crown Court, 2024) – Following a five-day trial, secured an acquittal for her client, raising self-defence, who was accused of assaulting a police officer.

R v R (Ealing Magistrates’ Court, 2024) – Secured an acquittal for her client after trial, who was accused of harassment.

R v M (Westminster Magistrates’ Court, 2024) – Successfully opposed the imposition of a Football Banning Order for her 18-year-old client, a lifelong football fan, who had pleaded guilty to possession of class A drugs at a football ground. She argued that there were circumstances making it unjust in all the circumstances to impose the Order. Her client received a conditional discharge for the offence.

Prosecution

R v D (Croydon Crown Court, 2025) – After a six-day trial, the jury returned a guilty verdict for stalking involving serious alarm or distress (s.4A). The complainant was a legal representative who had provided legal representation to D in a previous case.

R v M (Kingston Crown Court, 2025) – The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict following a four-day trial, concerning the offence of failing to comply with a s.49 RIPA Notice, requiring M to disclose their mobile phone PIN codes to the police whilst being investigated as a suspect for a double attempted murder.

R v H (Croydon Crown Court, 2025) – After a three-day trial, secured a conviction for possession of a bladed article in a public place.

R v P (Southampton Crown Court, 2025) – Secured a unanimous conviction for causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal following a four-day trial. The defendant had inflicted 2 to 3 impact traumas on his partner’s cat, by either stamping or beating, whilst his partner was out of the house. Catastrophic injuries were caused to the cat’s ribs, liver, lungs and face, requiring the cat to be euthanised. The trial involved calling live evidence from an expert veterinary pathologist.

R v D (Bournemouth Crown Court, 2025) – Secured a conviction for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, following a three-day trial.

LA v B (Reading Magistrates’ Court, 2024) – Representing a Local Authority, secured guilty verdicts on all ten counts in a two-day trial. Charges included harassment, obscene communication and noise abatement notice breaches.

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